The Six-Week Delusion
Over the years I’ve gotten better about this, but the “six-week delusion” still gets me pretty often. What is it? Here’s Juliet Funt explaining it in “A Minute to Think“:
Sometimes we delay reeling in our tuna based on a thinking error I call the Six-Week Delusion. For example, if you’re asked to meet with a vendor for the third time, you may say, “Now’s not good but I can meet in August (about six weeks away).” According to your spacious, all-white future calendar, August looks like a cakewalk compared to the overstuffed month you’re in now. But if you really thought about it, you’d see that mid-June looked exactly the same at the end of April, yet somehow filled in. As future time always does. As future time always will.
It can be so hard to avoid unless you are specifically thinking about it.
This week is busy.
Next week is busy.
But six weeks from now? Sure, I’ve got plenty of time!
It’s tomorrow
A good way that I’ve heard this framed is to imagine the event being tomorrow. If someone asks you to do something in six weeks, pretend that they asked you to do it tomorrow? Would you still do it? Making it seem real can offer perspective that might make you inclined to turn down the offer.
The six-week delusion has been a tricky one for me to tame, but I’ll keep working at it. How often do you fall into this trap?
It’s like the concept I’ve blogged about called. Beware of distant elephants. An elephant doesn’t look large and imposing when it’s far away, but when it’s up on you, it’s large and imposing. The same thing is true with your calendar and busyness.